LASIK/iLASIK™

LASIK reshapes the cornea using a laser to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. First, we use an incredibly accurate femtosecond laser called the IntraLase® iFS to create a superficial flap of tissue in the cornea. This flap is then folded back, and a cool beam of light from an excimer laser gently reshapes the underlying surface of the cornea. The entirely blade-free LASIK treatment typically takes less than one minute, at which point the flap is replaced in its original position. At Dell Laser Consultants, we specialize in an advanced form of blade-free all-laser LASIK, called Custom Wavefront-Guided iDesign iLASIK™. Despite what you might have been told elsewhere, Dell Laser Consultants is the only center in Austin to use this highly advanced technology, which is described in detail below.

LASIK is performed on an outpatient basis and typically takes only a few minutes. You will remain awake during the procedure and the only anesthetic you will need is eye drops. Anticipate being in our office for one to two hours on the day of the procedure. Most patients experience improved vision the same day and are able to return to work the very next day. You will take an antibiotic drop a few times a day for about a week or less following your procedure.

Some of the advantages of LASIK typically include: little or no postoperative discomfort, waking with good vision the following morning, being back at work quickly, and using eye drops for less than a week.

iDesign/iLASIK™

At Dell Laser Consultants, we specialize in Custom Wavefront-Guided iLASIK™. No two eyes are alike, and like your DNA or fingerprint, your vision is unique. There are tiny imperfections or distortions in every eye, even when the correct glasses or contact prescription is used. To understand this further, imagine two people who visit the eye doctor and obtain exactly the same glasses prescription. Using standard LASIK correction, those two individuals would be treated with exactly the same laser treatment plan despite the fact that their eyes each have a unique set of naturally occurring tiny imperfections and distortions. With Custom Wavefront-Guided laser vision correction, the iDesign diagnostic device maps the entire optical path of your eye, including the tiny distortions and imperfections naturally present in all eyes. This is effectively a unique “fingerprint of your vision,” and provides us with extremely precise and detailed information about your vision. The technology involved is highly complex, and it is based upon mathematical techniques used to improve the performance and image quality of deep space telescopes.

This customized, unique map of your eye is then loaded into the computer of the excimer laser, which generates a wavefront-customized treatment appropriate for the individual “fingerprint” of your eye. After creating a flap in the cornea using the advanced IntraLase® iFS femtosecond laser, the STAR S4 IR® excimer laser places the customized computer controlled treatment pattern on your cornea to correct your vision. This highly advanced form of LASIK using the IntraLase® iFS laser and the AMO STAR S4 IR® laser is known as iLASIK™. This specialized form of LASIK provides some of the best results in quality of vision that we have ever seen as clinicians.

In 2015, Dr. Dell became the first surgeon in Texas to perform Custom Wavefront-Guided iDesign iLASIK™. Treatment with iDesign iLASIK™ takes our ability to correct vision to a new level of accuracy, and Dell Laser Consultants remains the only center in Austin to offer this specialized form of laser vision correction. This remarkable technology measures the eye with 5 times greater accuracy than the already superb results achieved with iLASIK™. The clinical results from iDesign iLASIK™ speak for themselves. In a clinical study of 334 eyes treated with this technology, 99% of patients experienced little or no difficulty with the clarity of their vision. iDesign iLASIK™ uses the same technology present in the James Webb Space Telescope, designed for high-definition views of space.

We are proud to say that the United States Navy used our laser AMO STAR S4 IR® to prove that Custom Wavefront-Guided iLASIK™ significantly improved night driving visual performance, and was significantly better than non-custom (non-wavefront guided) LASIK. (Ophthalmology 2009; 116:702-709). This study was instrumental in the approval of our laser technology for all fighter pilots in the military and for NASA astronauts. The visual demands placed upon astronauts are intense, and the stakes are high. The US military now runs several facilities utilizing iLASIK™ to meet the intense visual demands of its mission-critical pilots and aviators flying multi-million dollar fighter jets. At Dell Laser Consultants, we believe it is critical for us to have this same advanced iLASIK™ technology for our patients. Even your most extreme lifestyle is nothing compared to being ejected from an F-22 Raptor or landing on an aircraft carrier at night, but you deserve the same level of quality vision.

For those of you who may have a background in optical sciences, you may already be familiar with some applications of wavefront-guided optical technology. In December 1993, Space Shuttle Mission STS-61 installed the COSTAR (Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement) upgrade to the Hubble Space telescope to correct spherical aberration in the lens system of the telescope. Spherical aberration is one of the main phenomena corrected by Custom wavefront-guided laser vision correction.

The world’s largest optical and infrared telescope astronomy telescope, located at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, uses a wavefront-guided system to control its adaptive optics. Adaptive optics allows this telescope to resolve images that no other telescope in the world can. This telescope now produces images with greater crispness and detail than those produced by the Hubble Space Telescope.

For more information about Custom Wavefront-Guided iDesign iLASIK, or if you would like to schedule a consultation with one of our board-certified ophthalmologists, please contact us today.

Health/Flex Savings Account Approved

LASIK is an approved procedure for use with Health Savings Accounts or Flex Spending Accounts.

If appropriate funds are allocated to your Flex account, you can use tax-free dollars to pay for your LASIK surgery. This can offer a substantial savings. You could save up to $2400 on your procedure, depending on your tax bracket.

In certain cases, the money can only be put into the account at specific times of the year, so it is important you check with your employer as to these rules. The allocated funds often have to be used by a certain time period or you lose the benefit.

Although the money may be invested this year, many plans allow for the surgery to be done well into the following year.

Whether you choose one of our zero percent financing plans or elect to use your flex spending account, with some early planning you can save a lot of money.